Many Virtual Assistants go through phases of overwhelm in their business.<\/p>\n
Anyone who owns a small business realizes that there are ebbs and flows of business, and there are also ebbs and flows of overwhelm as a result of that.<\/p>\n
If you have ever had a client call you with a project and they ask you \u2018how quickly can you
\nget this done?\u2019, you know what I\u2019m talking about.<\/p>\n
If you are like me, you set up your schedule and you know how your work day will look from one day to the next. It\u2019s the only way I can make sure that I have time to
\ncomplete everything I need to get done, for my clients and for my own business.<\/p>\n
So, how do you handle it? Well, the first thing to consider is how your schedule looks.<\/p>\n
We are going to presume that you don\u2019t have \u2018help\u2019 available … this is my advice for you
\nif you are on your own and trying to work with the client request, while maintaining your sanity and schedule.<\/p>\n
Relax! Breathe! It\u2019s a great situation to be in!<\/p>\n
First things first. Set deadlines to complete the work<\/strong>, and be sure your clients are aware of when you will deliver the finished work.<\/p>\n Add the project(s) to your schedule, … schedule time for them and be sure that your deadlines are solid … and then meet the deadlines, <\/strong>whatever the cost.<\/p>\n If you agree to do the work, you must complete it on time. So be sure to set the deadlines Set up checklists to go through the steps to complete the client work.<\/strong> Check off each task as you complete it, so you are aware of what is finished and what still needs to be done.<\/p>\n This is especially important if you are \u2018fitting in\u2019 some work to an existing schedule \u2013 if you can carve out sections of time to work on it, a checklist will be invaluable for you.<\/p>\n Deliver the work when you say you will. <\/strong>This helps you respect the client, as well as yourself.<\/p>\n It\u2019s easy to squeeze things in when necessary, but it\u2019s even more important to assess whether squeezing something in is even possible … sometimes it\u2019s not if you are already busy.<\/p>\n Recently, I had several \u2018old\u2019 clients call during the same week with some new projects. They all needed them done as soon as possible. I let them know that I would squeeze them in, as my schedule was quite busy with current client work. I gave them workable deadlines that fit into my existing schedule, and they were pleased to know that I would fit them in, and that they knew when they would receive their completed work.<\/p>\n I set up my checklists and I worked on their projects when I had planned to, and I managed to deliver all of them on time without creating too much overwhelm in my life.<\/p>\n It was great to be able to help them out when they needed it, and it was a bonus for me to
\ncorrectly by giving yourself enough time to complete the work properly.<\/p>\n
\nget some extra work when I hadn\u2019t expected it.<\/p>\n